Monday, 30 May 2011

332 ft was the new world record jump distance set at this year's Indianapolis 500 by a mystery yellow-clad driver, later revealed as Tanner Foust. The driver, who has collected three X Games Gold Medals took the Four-Wheeled Vehicle Distance Jump Record in an event promoted by Hot Wheels, the famous vehicle toy brand from the Mattel stable.

The new world record beats the previous by 31 feet, while the main event at the Brickyard, the Indianapolis 500, celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Spectators watched as a masked driver sped down a 90 ft. ramp, suspended on an enormous 100 feet tall door and then across the infield of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A design that mimicked the Hot Wheels V-Drop track set boys have played with on their bedroom doors for years. Many of the now grown-up and previously would-be stunt co-ordinators will have suffered an increased level of anxiety, having through childhood witnessed much failure in the set-up of their own Hot Wheels stunt tracks.

"As a kid playing with Hot Wheels I could only dream of experiencing something as outrageous as a life-sized V-Drop track set, and today it became reality," said Tanner Foust. "There's a lot that goes into being on Team Hot Wheels and the training and testing leading up to the jump gave me the confidence needed to push the mechanical and mental limits of the challenge and land the world-record title."

Foust is a professional stunt driver and has also been a three-time X Games gold medalist and two-time Formula Drift champion. His professional stunt driving credits include Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift, Dukes of Hazzard, Bourne Ultimatum, Iron Man 2, and the remake of Red Dawn.